CAF Veteran finds new mission creating military proud apparel company

Canadian Armed Forces veteran Nick Stroesser’s t-shirt company Corporal4Life Apparel is where Canadian military pride meets affordable style.

The former CAF member draws inspiration from his time in the military, whether it was his time serving in Afghanistan or as a firefighter in the Royal Canadian Air Force, or being part of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment, to create his one-of-a-kind designs that give back to the veteran community.

Stroesser prints all of his shirts in his hometown of Windsor, ON.

The idea came to Stroesser when, after retiring from the military in 2014, he couldn’t find a wide selection of apparel to represent his Canadian military pride.

Wanting something to represent his time in the military, Stroesser decided to create his own line, starting off with a handful of designs.

So far, all of his designs have sold well, with the Canadian Veteran and Afghanistan Veteran t-shirts as all around bestsellers.

He introduced a new design this year to celebrate Canada’s 150th: the Canada 1867 shirt. He’s sold more than 80 of these shirts so far.

“It’s kind of cool to see people wearing something that I thought of. Even here in Windsor, I’ve had a couple of people wearing my stuff that I don’t know, which is kind of awesome,” noted Stroesser.

Stroesser’s t-shirts are all designs he’d like to wear himself and, in fact, he does.

“I’m a walking billboard. I like them, and it doesn’t hurt to wear my own products because I have had people ask me where did I get that,” said Stroesser.

Corporal4Life is much more than just t-shirts, Stroesser made it his mission from the start to find a charity, relating to veterans, to donate proceeds to. After searching for a perfect fit, it was by chance that Stroesser met the founder of PTSD Battle Cry at work one day. The organization raises awareness for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and looks to raise funds to provide those with PTSD with a service dog.

“He wasn’t out to make money, he was out to do something about PTSD,” recalled Stroesser.

The meeting struck a chord with Stroesser, and he decided to pair up with the organization. Now, proceeds from every Corporal4Life sale go to PTSD Battle Cry.

With the word slowly starting to get around about Stroesser’s company, and after pairing up with PTSD Battle Cry, Stroesser knows that when it comes to Corporal4Life Apparel, he’s just getting started.

“It’s nice to see that Canadians and veterans are proud of what they’ve done. They’re not in the shadows. And if we can help anybody through PTSD Battle Cry that’s awesome,” said Stroesser.

You can purchase Corporal4Life Apparel t-shirts by visiting their website.

Canadian Military Family Magazine is Canada’s only military lifestyle magazine. We are an independent media source, hence not affiliated with the CAF or DND. Our team is comprised of military community members dedicated to provide relevant information for our community.